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Crown in Second Place.

Royal end on a low.

Two goals from Golden Boot boy, Jon Wardle gave Crown Electrics a comprehensive 3-1 win over Royal Mail, with Gary Rolls grabbing the other. Royal played quite well and probably didn’t deserve to lose by 2 clear goals, but the lack of any lethal striker meant that their last win was on the 5th of February when they beat Tyne Port 4-0. The team was actually due to play Tyne Port on the same day, but with Tyne unable to produce a team – Royal were awarded a 2-1 win. This game closed Royal’s participation in the Sunderland Football League after three excellent seasons. The team joined in Season 2 and introduced the League to quality players such as Gary Errington, Anthony Langan, Mick Stockdale, Stephen Lawson, David Pringle and many others. It was probably Royal Mail which actually raised the League to another level as many teams attempted to match them with better players and attempted to mirror their organisation. In Season 2 they won the Double. In Season 3 they won the 3rd SFL Cup and came 2nd in the League. And finally, this Season, they finished 3rd in the League, but failed to make an impact in both Cup Competitions. It’s a shame to lose such a well organised team but they did struggle with player availability this Season, so it’s understandable. The League thanks Royal Mail for their participation over the past few Seasons and will gladly invite and welcome them back in Season 6 if they so wish.

Select win the League.

Team Coulson in 2nd.

Team Coulson soaked up some pressure from Durham and hit them with three late goals. Durham equalised from the first one but couldn’t recover from the other two. The win pushes Team Coulson up into third but Crown kept pace with a 3-0 win over FOUR man Lance Roberts, who were clearly struggling but failed to postpone the game in the 24 hours notice time allowed. Royal weren’t playing but could leap frog Team Coulson along with Crown.

Select annihilated SNC to give them the Title which was inevitable. They have two games left, one against Sassco and one against Royal. Team Coulson, Durham, Lance and SNC have all completed their games. Sassco need to beat Select to get out of the Relegation Play-Off. If they do, Durham drop into it. Star can still get into the Play-Offs at the expense of Sassco if they win both their last games.

SNC suffer a late setback

3 goals in the last few minutes.

Team Coulson faced off against SNC, a team which had never beaten them. Three goals in the last few minutes settled the issue. SNC were, again, highly disorganised and look likely to be contesting the Relegation Play-Off between themselves and Star or Sassco.

Lance in Second Place.

Tyne Port gain an unlikely point.

Select gained another three points with a fine 1-0 win over Team Coulson courtesy of a Simon Williams goal. Mark Kelsey missed a “sitter” near the end but the addition of Stephen Wilson to the team didn’t add any more goals despite a good performance. A goal from Kevin Sorlie granted Tyne Port an unlikely but welcome 1-1 draw with Crown. Jon Wardle came off the bench to equalise but the game failed to yield any further goals. Lance Roberts jumped into 3rd place with a superb win over Sunderland Star who look unlikely to dislodge Sassco from the Relegation Play-Off berth. Muers grabbed a hat-trick for the promoted team who have surprised everyone this season.

Finally a tough encounter between Durham and SNC ended with a critical 1-0 win for SNC who could yet escape the Relegation Play-Off at the expense of Durham. A solitary goal from Gourlay was enough as SNC maintain their recent run of form.

Sassco: too little too late?

Tyne Port: Relegated.

The addition of Craig Richardson alongside Gary Jackson and Alan Elliot revitalised a stagnant Sassco team. With new signing Michael Booth fitting in at the back with Sangha, it was left to the youngsters to play out the rest of Sassco’s games. And play they did. Lance Roberts were torn apart and a few struck posts and crossbars and a disallowed goal left Sassco with a 2-2 draw. A second game was played against SNC who had just been defeated off Select and that resulted in 2 Gary Jackson goals after being 1-0 down. Jackson and Craig Richardson (his first for Sassco) scored in the opening game. And these results came without the likes of Mouat, Duff, Corby, Robson and Ridley.

Durham’s bubble was burst by Crown Electrics in a 2-1 win. Crown maintain their good run of form while Durham end theirs. Sunderland Star somehow lost to Team Coulson 1-0, despite so many chances. Team Coulson luck ran out against Crown last week but this week they managed to secure the three points.

Select almost there.

4-0 win over Royal Mail puts them clear.

The Champions in Division 1 look likely to retain the trophy. A resounding 4-0 win over nearest challengers, Royal Mail leave them almost home and dry. Sassco also look doomed – like they did last season – after two defeats. A 2-1 win for Durham was well-deserved but a 3-2 defeat against Lance was a bit unlucky, despite Dave Watson making some outstanding saves. Lance probably edged it in terms of shots on goal, but a hastily put together Sassco team failed to make any significant mark. SNC did the double over rivals Tyne Port in a 3-0 win. Tyne could be confirmed Relegated next week. Star, Sassco or SNC look likely to join them. Finally Crown turned a 2-1 deficit into a 4-2 win over Team Coulson. Wardle scored a hat-trick but the finest goal of the night was Shaun Forrest’s mazy run past 4 players to slot it past Danny Coulson, who made some unbelievable saves on the night.

Select win the Challenge Cup.

Durham beat Sassco 2-0.

Despite losing their goalkeeper during the past week, Sunderland Select were far superior to Crown Electrics in the Final. Both teams had met in the initial group stages with Select running out 7-2 winners, however this was a far more closer game. Select opened the scoring in the first few minutes and added a second later on. They had the lions share of the chances but spurned them. Steve Stubbs fired in a late goal as Jon Wardle had squandered most of his chances, but it was too late as the next action was the referees full time whistle. So Select take the honours and look likely to be the first team to take the double since Royal Mail in Season 2, as their League position is also very healthy.

Sassco put out a completely changed line up due to injuries and drop outs. In came Gary Jackson, Alan Elliott and William Harper. Durham, however, put out a very strong side with the likes of Steve Bryan, Stephen Wilson and Neil Richardson. Sassco were not perturbed and put up an excellent fight. The ineffectual Wilson was taken off and replaced with rapid pace from Derek Newton and Nicky Pemberton who both came on for the second and scored both the goals. The game was highly charged with the likes of Nicky Pemberton, Neil Richardson, Davinder Sangha and Lee Tait all involved in brief flare ups.

Star take a share of Royals points.

Sassco into Relegation trouble.

Select took a major step in retaining their title with a superb 4-0 win over the relegation threatened Sassco. This combined with Mickey Pearson (ex-Royal Mail) firing in an equaliser for Star against Royal Mail. The result pushed them into the bottom two as they now seem to be favourites along with Sassco and Tyne to take one of the two relegation berths. An intriguing prospect also lies in the Relegation Play-Off. Sex & Chocolate seem to be winning as they gained a surprise 2-1 win over Durham. Lee Brooks put out a star studded team with Neil Richardson coming out of the cold to join them. It was Brooks himself who came off the bench to fire in a consolation goal after Richardson, Wilson, Pemberton and Newton all failed to break down SNC. Crown and Lance cancelled each other out with a 2-2 draw. Scott Hembrough scored both for Lance in an MoM performance while Wardle and Robason got the goals for Crown.

Well done! John Hunt.

Select in the Final against Crown.

A masterful and comprehensive performance saw Select see off the timid challenge of the once feared, Toddys in the Semi Finals to put John Hunt in his first final in the JDI League. On the other side, Tom Fraser has now taken Crown to two finals. A Season 2 appearance was complemented by, now, a Season 4 appearance. They were 2-0 up against Team Coulson, but Leithes fired in two goals to take the game to penalties, where Danny Coulson failed to inspire his team. So now, Crown face the mighty Select in the Final. Doesn’t look promising; Crown were slaughtered 7-2 a few games back by Select and have failed to beat them yet. Looks like John Hunt will finally dismiss all his doubters by lifting the Glassware in two weeks time.

Sassco and Tyne Port, both suffered defeats in Division 1. Sassco were lacklustre against a rampant S N C and were 2 down before they decided to fightback. Chance after chance was saved by MoM Mark Tearney. Gordon Robson scored his 4th goal in two games but was unlucky to get an equaliser. Tyne Port, as expected, were hammered by Lance Roberts 4-0. Not long now before Dixon and co. will be plying their trade in Division 2.

“Flash” Gordon returns…

A hat-trick on his return boosts Sassco.

Returning from injury, Gordon Robson played his first game since the start of November 2001 and subsequently fired in a hat-trick in a superb 5-1 win over Sunderland Star. This was Gareth Brazier’s heaviest defeat since taking over Sunderland Star, yet it started well. A strong shot put them 1-0 ahead and then a lucky deflected breakaway was superbly thwarted by Dave Watson, making his second appearance for Sassco. Paul Mouat scored the impressive equaliser with a near post header and then it was all Sassco. A superb Gordon Robson strike put them 2-1 ahead. Anthony Richardson was also making a return to the Sassco team after his “retirement”.

Dixon does it again.

Goal direct from a corner seals another win.

A goal direct from a corner kick from Chris Dixon sealed Tyne Port’s second straight win. The same team which beat Sassco last week had several opportunities to score more but failed (a common problem with Tyne Port this season). However the three points were welcome, but Tyne still foot the table with 5 games remaining (including two against Crown and one against Royal Mail).

Tyne Port’s second victory.

2-1 win over Sassco gives them some hope.

Without a win for months, Tyne Port finally gained another 3 points with a reasonably well deserved win over Sassco. “Reasonably” because Sassco had the domination and possession but failed to put their chances away and were thwarted by MoM Malcolm Harvey. At the other end, Chris Dixon was clinical as he fired in two superb goals to put Tyne Port 2-0 ahead. Stephen Ridley pulled one back for Sassco and then during 4 minutes of intense pressure where Paul Mouat, Craig Richardson and David Duff had chances, the score remained the same. 2-1 to Tyne Port.

Royal neck and neck with Select.

Team Coulson beat Lance while Star unlucky v SNC.

Despite playing a game more, Royal Mail look like the sole challengers to Select, who still head the table. An expected 4-0 win over Tyne Port put gives them the same points and same goal difference as Select. Tyne Port, however, are just waiting for the confirmation when they are relegated. A depleted team didn’t help neither. Tyne Port urgently require players (especially strikers). If anybody is reliable and interested then please contact the League Secretary on the below number.

Team Coulson scored an impressive win against Lance Roberts. Sean Hounslow fired in two fine strikes as Team Coulson were recalling Dean Wardle and Gavin Wilson. Lance Roberts had chances but Team Coulson fully deserved the win.

Gash Brazier’s Sunderland Star team could definitely count themselves unlucky in a narrow 2-1 defeat against SNC. They went a goal ahead with a brilliant chipped goal and kept the pressure on until a late SNC equaliser. The SNC winner came from Dave Gourlay and definitely looked as if it was in the area. The drag back by Gourlay gave it away.

Select gain more ground.

Team Coulson lose. Durham and Royal cancel each other out.

Select were playing against Sunderland Star, who were now under the control of Gareth Brazier after Chris Haldane, then Stephen Bennett were unable to control the team which at one stage looked highly impressive at the start of the season. Select were expected to win, and did dominated, but 2 goals from Cairns were all they could manage despite some intense pressure. A 2-1 win didn’t reflect the performance, but it was enough as Team Coulson, surprisingly, were trounced by Crown. Both were weakened, but Crown, without Wardle and Forrest, took advantage with 2 goals from Rolls and 1 superb (and unexpected) free kick from Jeff Clark, after coming under intense pressure during the last few weeks. Royal and Durham played out a 1-1 draw, which was controversial after the referee (allegedly) blew for time early. Goals from Middleton and Shakespeare gave both teams a share of the points. SNC gained their second win in the League, and like Crown’s win; it was unexpected. Lance were on form and feared, but SNC, despite giving away an equaliser with a howler from Tearney grabbed a 3-2 win. Wayne Greenwells 2 goals for Lance were match by Selimovics 2 goals.

Sex & Chocolate 3 Lance Roberts 2

Match Report by Dave “Nik Nak” Gourlay (SNC)

An excellent result from S & C to keep their faint survival hopes alive. It was a thrilling game with Cassidy opening the scoring with a good finish early on. Both teams had a few half chances & it was S & C who went in at half time with a deserved lead. In the second half it started off in the same fashion with Cassidy the provider this time, with excellent work down the flank he pulled it back for Selimovic to poke it home & make it 2-0. Shortly after Lance struck back after a mix up at the back let them through. The pressure was on S & C to see if they could hold their lead, once again this wasn't to be the case as Tearney provided us with blooper of the season. He through a long ball out reaching one of their players & he struck the ball back towards Tearney which should have been a simple catch but fumbled it into the back of the net. Apparently the floodlight caught his eye as he was trying to catch it, yeah, good one. Chances went begging at both ends & it could have went either way. However with 5 mins remaining Selimovic linked up with Gourlay & Gourlay provided a through ball for Selimovic to bury it in the bottom corner. A deserved lead & a deserved victory in a crucial game for S & C.

Durham edge through.

Crown in a 4-4 against Toddy’s

Most of the games went to form. The First Round of the Challenge Cup concluded with the predicted teams reaching their expected Second Round groups. The only surprise was Crown drawing with Toddy’s and therefore heading the weakest group. Royal Mail, as expected, battered InTune in style but had to score 8 goals in total to head the group. They now go into the most difficult group but are expected to top after an impressive set of recent results. Team Coulson headed their group with ease after disposing of Sporting by 2-1. Runexact had earlier beaten Sassco with a superb John Coomber goal but they had to hope that Sporting could beat Coulson by a heavy score to have any chance of qualifying. Crown were leading 4-2 against Toddy’s and looked like securing an impressive win. Both were through but Toddy’s came back to 4-4 in an all out game. Crown now surprisingly head the group after being expected to lose against Toddy’s. Gary Duggan (Durham Manager) was standing sweating on the sidelines as Lance faced off against a weakened Select team and were losing 3-2. A late goal pulled Select back which meant Durham joined them in the Second Round. JJB Sports and Tyne was an insignificant game as both were playing for pride. Alan Burn took his chances whilst most of Tyne’s fell to Andrew Mclaren who fired in some excellent shots which were saved by JJBs ‘keeper. All the games were well played but obviously lacked excitement as most of the groups had been concluded in the previous set of games, apart from the Select/Durham/Lance group. The second round hopefully will offer more

Royal gain an important victory.

Crown impressive against SNC. Tyne lose to Lance.

An impressive and tense game led to a last minute goal which gave Royal Mail a 2-1 win over Team Coulson. Gavin Wilson fired in an opener for Team Coulson but a second half equaliser and a last minute free kick gave all the points to Royal. Controversy surrounded the late goal and Ronny Alcock received a barrage of criticism from Team Coulson which could possibly lead to a fine from Durham FA. Sex & Chocolate ended their recent run of good form as Crown Electrics counterattacked effectively to win 5-2. Wardle and Rolls shared 4 goals while substitute Steve Stubbs fired in the 5th. Dave Gourlay came on for SNC after a long lay off from injury and grabbed a goal, but the damage had been done in the first half. Tommy Wilkinson made a debut for Tyne Port and although the performance was good, Lance Roberts were the opponents and ran out 4-1 winners. Scott Hembrough was awarded MoM for Lance in a brilliant attacking performance which was complemented with 2 goals. Mick Simmons scored for Tyne after a long wait for his second goal of the campaign (the first coming on the opening day).

Team Coulson move into 3rd.

Royal drop two points against Crown as Select win again.

Durham suffered a 5-3 defeat off the Champions in their third encounter this season. It was just as bad tempered as the previous encounters as Durham, who presented a very weakened team, failed to capitalise when they managed to level the game at 3-3.

A superb free kick from Shaun Forrest levelled the game for Crown against Royal Mail. Royal were favoured to win and did dominate most of the game with their impressive possession play. Mickey Pearson fired in the opener in the first half and it seemed inevitable that they would get a second. Crown had other ideas and managed to gain a valuable point.

A thoroughly miserable Tyne Port suffered a second 4-0 defeat in back to back weeks to send them into the break with no points. Tyne are almost certainly relegated, based on current team and form, but it seems the normally positive team is beginning to feel the pressure after losing continuously. Dixon needs to get the chequebook out and import Phil McNerney from China as soon as possible.

Sassco hit Crown for 7.

Select, Royal Mail, Toddy's, Sex & Chocolate, Crown Electrics guaranteed a Second Phase place.

Despite being eliminated from the Challenge Competition moments earlier by Castletown suffering a 1-0 defeat against Team Coulson, Sassco pulled off their best performance to date and pulverised Crown Electrics 7-2. Rolls and Wardle scored for Crown but goals from Richardson (2), Blakey (2), Ridley (2) and Mouat was too much for them, in particular, Richardson scored two stunning goals. Sassco still remain in the Relegation Play-Off position but now move 5 points clear of Crown.

Select and Royal head the pack.

Second successive defeat for Sassco. Tyne Port rock bottom.

Select reversed the result against Lance to win 3-2 in their second League encounter. Walker scored a fine goal as Select probably deserved it. Lance’s keeper Scott Johnstone, was MoM in their first League defeat since 9th October. Royal Mail also kept pace as they punished a lack lustre Sassco team with 4 clinical strikes. Royal went 2-0 ahead but Wilson clawed one back. In the second half the game looked even, only to see the normally reliable Mouat deliver a back heel which was punished to put Royal 3-1 ahead. A final 4-1 score in a agame where both teams had very few shots on goal. Royal had about 5 or 6 shorts while Sassco could only muster around 2 or 3. Durham also scraped through against a more resilient Tyne Port team. A 2-1 win reflects the tightness in the game. Tyne seem to be doing better and seem to be harder to break down, but their luck simply isn’t there. Finally Star UK were the latest team to suffer at the hands of the Team Coulson steam roller. Coulson are unbeaten since losing Trevor Walker as a 3-1 win was fairly comfortable.

Royal lose their first game.

Lance unbeaten for 6 games.

Select regained top spot with an impressive 4-1 win over Tyne Port. Christian Baines welcome return was augmented by some superb goals from Trevor Walker and a beauty from Chris Dixon. Both goals and the game was overshadowed by Lance Roberts simultaneously destroying Royal Mail on Pitch B in a 4-0 rout. This was Royal’s first defeat in the League, although they do have games in hand to go back on top. Team Coulson gained revenge over rivals Sassco in a crucial League encounter. Shaun Hounslow fired in his first goal for Coulson in his full debut. Further goals from Gavin Wilson and Joseph Spraggon finished Sassco off with a 3-0 win. Durham struck the cross bar and posts on several occasions and rued the missed chances as Jon Wardle fired in a hat-trick to gain Crown a valuable 3-2 win.

Lance Roberts thrash Durham.

A 5-0 win takes them out of the Relegation Zone.

Durham suffered severely at the hands of Lance Roberts. The previous League encounter ended in a 3-1 defeat for Lance, but since their 3-2 win over Select, they’ve been in top form having been undefeated. Durham were also celebrating a recent win over Select and the game was expected to be tight. The result takes Lance out of the Relegation Zone for the first time this Season.

End of a Legend? Danny walks out on Coulson.

Durham destroy an incompetent Select.

Inexplicably Trevor Walker and Danny Coulson walked off before the end of their game against Lance Roberts. Two late goals gave Lance an historic victory having failed to tackle Team Coulson when both were in Division 2. Team Coulson are at their lowest ebb having lost three games on the bounce. It seems unlikely that both Danny and Trevor will play for Coulson again, but the timely return of Mark Kelsey could help. David Leithes and Dean Wardle were both missing.

Sunderland Select are going through an increasingly worrying period. Players don’t seem to turn up and Manager, John Hunt cannot control his team kit. Durham, who lost 3-1 the previous week to the same team were more determined and caught Select on the break constantly. The inevitable defeat means that Select have lost two league games off the belt. For Durham, this was an exceptional result. Anth Carter got the hat-trick as Garry Duggans team look to be definite Title Contenders.

Sassco were expected to push over Tyne Port. Both teams had reasonably successful games in the Challenge Competition and Tyne seem to be coming slowly out of a bad period. Wilson opened the scoring for Sassco with a brilliant curling shot from distance only to see his team gift a chance to Dixon who replied. Gordon Robson fired one in to send the Sassco in at half time leading 2-1. The score remained that way and only excellent goalkeeping from both Gary Brogden (making his debut) and Chris Garrett kept the score the same.

Crown Electrics were without the services of Shaun Forrest and Gary Rolls and had to call on Manager, Tom Fraser to make his first appearance since Season 2 (when they were PCB). Wardle was there and fired in two goals but Star also managed to end a losing streak by gaining a 2-2 draw. Bennett scored both goals in a brilliant performance.

Royal beat an in form Durham to go top.

Coulson’s fightback against Select in vain.

Two goals from David Pringle managed to secure an excellent win for Royal Mail over a stubborn Durham team. Durham were on a three game winning streak since Garry Duggan took over, and significantly, this was one of Royal Mail’s first wins without Neil Richardson. Pringle fired in his second in the dying minutes to put Royal Mail back on top of the table after a two week break in playing.

Team Coulson, again, were 3-0 down for the second consecutive week, and again came back strongly. Defensive problems seem to be a major worry, with heavy criticism coming down on Gavin Wilson for pushing up. But, with Gavin firing in some important goals, it maybe wiser to bring in a defender to replace him at the back and push him forward. Gavin was highly successful as a striker for Herrenknecht way back in Season 1 where he was the third leading scorer in the League. The same in Season 2 where he scored 10 in 13 games.

Another entertaining game involving S N C. This time against Division 2 rivals Lance Roberts. S N C fired in three goals but failed to stop leaking at the back. The attack minded side were 3-2 up at one stage but nearly lost it within minutes in the same way they lost against Crown the previous week. A 3-3 draw was a suitable result for both teams. Maddison, Gourlay and Selimovic scored for S N C whilst Lance, again, had some of his finest players on the bench in his much criticised “rotation” policy.

Amazing Lance Roberts.

3 defeats then an unexpected win over the Champs.

Lance Roberts pulled off one of the results of the season with a 3-2 win over Sunderland Select. The amazing thing was that Lance had suffered 3 League defeats and 1 Cup exit and looked likely to suffer again. Especially when Select cancelled out their opener. Select soon went ahead but Lance clawed it back with the inspirational Lance Rackstraw commanding the team from within goal. A late winner truly shocked a star studded Select team. Only three teams have ever beaten Select in open play. Herrenknecht (Sassco), Crown Electrics and now Lance Roberts. A decidedly shaky start from Select. True, they’ve annihilated certain teams, but with games against Team Coulson, Royal Mail, Sassco and Durham in the pipeline, they surely need to pull off championship performances. Defeats against the likes of Lance Roberts could cost them heavily. But saying that. They’re more likely to win more games then lose them,

Garry Duggan’s Durham look very impressive now as people seem to be taking note. A 4-2 win over Lee Redford’s team moved them into fourth place. Joe Mid was again MoM with yet another inspired performance. Redford was still smarting at losing Neil Middlemiss to Toddy’s, but, unfortunately, that’s the way this League goes. The players call the shots and if they want to leave, then they can. An example is Herrenknecht (Sassco) last season. They lost Gavin Wilson, Stephen Wilson, John Hunt all at a key stages in the campaign because at the time Herrenknecht wasn’t a good team to play in. But they dug deep and survived. Redford can do the same and stop worrying about if players don’t want to play for his team.

Sex & Chocolate were again close to a victory, but had it snatched from them by Crown Electrics. An evenly balanced game ended in favour of Crown 3-2 who celebrated their first win. Jon Wardle was on the subs bench for the first half as Shaun Forrest, making his Season 4 debut, stole the show with two fine goals. It could have gone either way. S N C are playing brilliant football but the luck doesn’t seem with them at the moment.

Star remain top, despite a heavy defeat.

Team Coulson and S N C in a thriller.

If you ever want to watch an entertaining game, then it’s recommended that you see S N C. The latest was a reprisal of their excellent encounters in Division 2 last Season against Team Coulson. Team Coulson went ahead three times but were pegged back twice. Both teams had excellent chances and, again, Danny Coulson had a “blinder” in goal. Unfortunately Dave Gourlay was a limping passenger for the majority of the second half after a hard, 50-50 challenge, otherwise the result could have been different. Nevertheless, both teams can hold their heads up proud after being involved in a pulsating game. Trevor Walker fired in a late goal to give Team Coulson their second League victory after a win, a defeat and two draws.

Sassco were due to have Stephen Wilson spearheading the attack. Due to injury, Mark Blakey signed on from Toddy’s to bolster the movement at the back. He had a stunning game as the level of his passing and vision was superb. Again, Crown opened the scoring as they did in the encounter last week, but this time Gordon Robson equalised. Sassco dominated heavily but were put under the spotlight on occasions. A winner came from an unlikely source: David Duff. An excellent free-kick was just rewards for a brilliant solid performance. Garrett pulled off some key saves near the end but Steve Ridley gathered his second consecutive MoM award. It seems after losing Langan, the team seems to be playing more fluently. Also, Davinder Sangha has for the first time in 4 seasons got a large squad to choose from. Lee Tait, Stephen Wilson, Paul Mouat and Davinder Sangha were all missing this time.

Star crumbled under the might of Select but still head the table. Losing Redford was a blow, but Select were far more physical and impressive. John Hunt overcame the disappointment of the Cup exit last week to gain a MoM performance in an impressive 7-0 win. Select looked impressive as they easily bundled over Lee Redford’s team which has now lost three in a row.

Garry Duggan’s Durham look increasingly impressive. A second consecutive win puts them into 5th place. A 3-1 defeat over Lance was impressive to watch as Durham seem to be a very attacking outfit with the likes of Mickey Donkin, Joe Middleton and Darren Drinkald in the team. Lance, after an impressive losing performance against Sassco a few weeks back are at the foot of the table joint with Crown. Lance Rackstraw has a huge squad to choose from but his team, unlike fellow promoted teams: S N C and Team Coulson, cannot get to grips with Division 1. Plenty of time yet though.

Important News.

A few Managerial/Organiser changes to announce. Firstly John Hunt is now in sole control of Sunderland Select after Mark Lawton was classed as Manager for this Season. Gary Duggan has replaced Brian Gettins as Manager of Durham. Obviously, Brian Gettins has been struggling this Season to secure a regular squad so it was mutually decided to either replace him or deplete Durham from the League. Luckily, Gary Duggan from Sporting made it known recently (prior to the Season commencing) that he was interested in setting up his own team and started with a 2-1 win over Tyne Port. Also, Craig Henderson has been appointed in control of JJB Sports over Alan Burn. Regular late arrivals and kit problems essentially forced this to happen. Danny Coulson also takes control again of Team Coulson due to Mark Kelsey’s absence.

A note to all teams: Payment must be made by Cheque from now on. The amount of loose change given is simply unacceptable. Cheques must be made payable to Sassco.

Selimovic back in form.

An up turn in fortunes for S N C.

A brilliant individual performance from Samir Selimovic propelled S N C to their first, highly unexpected, win of the Season. A 4-1 annihilation of the previous 100% Star UK was definitely one of the surprises of the Season so far. Star UK could have consolidated their pole position after Team Coulson had drawn against Royal Mail and Select had drawn against Crown, but Samir Selimovic, who had been criticised over the last few weeks, fired in a hat-trick despite carrying a bad injury (courtesy of Neil Middlemiss) all during the second half. Star UK actually opened the scoring but went in 3-1 down at half time. Both teams had chances in the Second Half but Samir struck late on to give S N C a huge boost in morale with a 4-1 win and a mid table position. Well done…

Four superb strikes from Crown and Select together ended a highly enjoyable game. Crown lost 1-0 a few weeks back when they deserved to at least draw if not win that game. This one was more evenly balanced and the score reflected that. A mistake from the recalled Jeff Clark allowed Select to open the scoring but Steve Stubbs, playing in place of Sean Forrest struck the equaliser. Select went ahead with minutes remaining and looked liked they’d secured their third straight win until Jon Wardle fired in a superb shot in the dying minutes to equalise.

Team Coulson should have taken advantage of a Royal Mail team not featuring Neil Richardson and Michael Boylen for the first time in months. They did with a late Trevor Walker strike. Defensive mishaps, however, allowed David Pringle to snatch a goal near the end. A draw, on average, was a fair result, but Team Coulson struck the post on few occasions as they’re beginning to look like definite Title Contenders. For Royal, John Thirwell was making a return and he marshalled Trevor Walker and David Leithes exceptionally well. It’s obvious that his experience was sorely missed in the Cup game last week.

Garry Duggan, taking control of Durham for the first time, did what Gettins was unable to do and secured a good win. A team featuring several players from Sporting raced into a 2 goal lead. Chris Scott clawed one back for Tyne but were unable to grab an equaliser despite some heavy pressure.

Star UK in pole position.

Crown open with a defeat. Durham and Team Coulson draw.

A brilliant performance by the underrated Star UK ended in a 5-0 defeat for the highly overconfident Sassco team. Sassco failed to muster a single shot on goal during the whole game. Langan reverted to positions which weren’t dangerous and Gordon Robson had an off day. Stand in ‘keeper, Sangha was at serious fault for both the opening goals and Duff had a below par game where he was dispossessed for the third goal. Back to the drawing board for Sassco, but an excellent and impressive performance from Star UK. Neil Middlemiss and Lee Redford were outstanding in an attacking performance. Durham turned up with a full squad and managed to scrape a draw with Team Coulson who couldn’t finish in a game where they had several chances. Durham’s keeper made some excellent saves to keep his team in it, but Gettins would have been happy with the draw. A seriously depleted Select team still managed to fire in a solitary winner against Crown in the first half. Crown were making their Season 4 debut after being deducted a point earlier in the season. Jon Wardle and co. had several excellent opportunities to at least equalise, but squandered chance after chance as time ran out. A tense game between rivals Tyne Port and Sex & Chocolate ended in a 1-0 win for Tyne. Chris Dixon came of the subs bench to fire in the winner late in the game. A disaster for S N C who were again struggling with a team.

Sassco snatch a last gasp equaliser.

A 2-2 draw with Royal Mail keeps them both unbeaten.

A delightful performance by the underrated Sunderland Star Team resulted in a devastating 5-1 win over the seemingly doomed Lance Roberts team. A second defeat for Lance puts them in the bottom half of the table. Many people have considered Star as Relegation Candidates but it’s obvious that Lee Redford has completely revamped his team with only really himself remaining from the loose ends of the old Bassenthwaite.

The major game was the clash between Sassco and the joint-favourites, Royal Mail. It opened with a powerful Steve Lawson drive which put Royal ahead. They looked on top as Sassco were out of sorts. Amazingly Sassco equalised from Paul Mouat, but that’s were the trouble began. Mouat and Duff spent large amounts of the game attacking leaving Robson and Langan isolated in defence. Paul Huitson making his second appearance for Sassco (Herrenknecht) struggled but his performance was excellent in difficult circumstances. Royal went 2-1 ahead from Neil Richardson who actually missed several good opportunities during the game. Arguments ensued but at the very end Langan fired in an equaliser to give Sassco a share of the points. Not really deserved but a good result considering they didn’t have Corby and Ridley.

Brian Philliskirk

Durham FA and Sassco Referee

Brian Philliskirk who refereed many games during Seasons 2 and 3 died recently of a heart attack. Our thoughts go out to his friends and family.

Sassco open with 3 points.

Royal Mail make it three out of three.

A more than impressive performance from two highly competitive teams ended in a 1-0 win for Sassco over Team Coulson. A solitary Gordon Robson strike in the first half settled the result but miraculous performances from both ‘keepers, Danny Coulson in particular, kept the score down. His counterpart (and rival) Chris Garrett equally kept his team in the game. Sassco had the majority of the better chances with Man-of-the-Match Robson and Langan having excellent games. Bad attitude from Gavin Wilson could have let his team down by turning up late and with no Trevor Walker it was down to David Leithes to fire in the chances. Mouat, making his Sassco debut, gifted him a chance but his shot flew over the bar. Chances were missed or saved at each end in a game in which Team Coulson probably deserved a share of the points.

Royal Mail made no mistake this time with a 6-0 win against S N C. Neil Richardson was Man-of-the-Match with two goals in a bad tempered affair. Royal kept the S N C team quiet as they dominated play to make it three wins out of three.

Tyne Port suffered again, this time against the Champions in a 6-1 rout. Dixon actually opened the scoring for Tyne but they gave away an equaliser and from then on it was all Select. A highly impressive performance from the Champions as they butchered Tyne Port. It could have been worse had Malcolm Harvey not saved several good chances.

Sunderland Select 6 Tyne Port 1

Match Report by Chris Dixon (Tyne Port)

A bit deflated considering I didn’t think we played particularly badly, but credit has to go to Select who finished superbly throughout the game. After controlling the opening play, Tyne took an early lead and should probably have gone further ahead, but we failed to convert some good chances.

As the first half wore on, Select got into their stride and began to heap pressure on the Tyne Port defence. It wasn’t long before the equaliser arrived and from then on Select piled forward with Tyne playing on the counter attack.

The final result of 6-1 was probably a bit harsh on Tyne, but the scoreline highlighted the main difference between the two sides. Malcolm Harvey was helpless in goal as Select taught us a lesson in how to finish your chances. We did have a number of good opportunities in the second half but failed to convert any of them.

Leithes sets Team Coulson off to a flyer.

Royal and Star head the pack.

Lance Rackstraw's rotation policy failed miserably as they were thoroughly outclassed by Royal Mail. Steve Lawson scored his first goals for Royal since May. David Pringle added the other in an impressive 3-0 win which could have been heavier. Lance Roberts have already lost the prominent Neil Middlemiss to Sunderland Star and it seems on this basis that many more will eventually leave. Quality players such as Scott Hembrough and Chris Devlin were left on the bench in a game where they would have been highly effective. Royal however look obvious joint favourites to win the League and it’s a stark contrast to their miserable start in Season 3.

Bad organisation from Brian Gettins left him with only 5 players as they were put to the sword by Sunderland Star who now sit comfortably in 1st Position. A 7-1 result wasn’t exactly fair on Durham, but with 11-a-side commitments hitting all teams for the next few weeks, the team should have been prepared. Another win for the excellent Sunderland Star keeps them on top. Despite losing the Jackson twins and also their Goalkeeper from last Season, it appears that Haldane and Redford have put together another impressive line up. Most independents considered them as favourites for the drop, but now it’s less clear who will go down.

Team Coulson trounced Tyne Port 3-0 with David Leithes opening his JDI Account with 2 fine goals. A true disaster for Tyne as without McNerney they seem to be disappearing rapidly. There is plenty of time left in a long campaign but they need inspiration and it seems at the moment it's coming from nowhere. Team Coulson actually managed this feat without Trevor Walker as the majority of the team is drastically different from last Seasons Division 2 Winners. Incoming players such as Joe Spraggon, Dean Wardle and David Leithes have bought a bit more experience and skill to the team compared to last Seasons methodical goal machine. They will be highly impressive when Trevor Walker comes back and all the plaudits have to go to new Manager Mark Kelsey for achieving this.

Team Coulson 3 Tyne Port 0

Match Report by Chris Dixon (Tyne Port)

A bad start last week got even worse as Tyne Port slumped to another disappointing defeat. While Sangha and co will undoubtedly point to the loss of McNerney and label us a one-man team, I resent this as it doesn’t do justice to the lads who finished in third place in season 2. True, the loss of a key player does have an impact on a team, but we will simply adopt our game plan as we did in Season 2 without many of the current players.

On the evidence of this game, the return of Chris Scott to the line up next week will be a massive bonus, as we seemed to lose the battle in midfield. Last week we had no complaints, the best team won. But this week we were gutted as we shot ourselves in the foot with some poor finishing and slack defending.

There’s no real worry though. With a decimated squad, the new line up will take time to gel. Select next week should provide an ideal game from our point of view - nothing to lose.

Interesting note: A lot of teams seem to be decked out in impressive new kits. This is excellent from a League Organiser’s point of view as each new season brings a fresh approach. The likes of Sassco, Royal Mail, InTune, Sex & Chocolate and Slipway have taken the league to another level in organisation on a visual scale. A lot of the games are being camcordered and then subsequently being put on video tape with full professional titling. This creates a product that is definitely impressive for our Sponsors…keep up the good work

Royal Mail and Star UK at the top.

Sex & Chocolate can count themselves unlucky.

A brilliant performance from S N C changed the minute Paul Maddison saw his shot saved by McGrath. Royal took control and 4 goals from Neil Richardson sealed the tie. Sunderland Star, without a few of their key players, managed to pulverise Tyne Port 5-2. Tyne Port were also missing several players but a reasonable line up failed to gain anything in the game.

Royal Mail 4 S N C 1

Match Report by Dave Gourlay (S N C)

S & C made their return to the top flight with a frustrating performance having played superbly for twenty minutes only to throw the game away.

One change was made to the starting line up from last season with Morris out & Paul Maddison in, this looking like a more balanced side & in the 1st half S & C were by far the better team playing some fluent football & creating some good chances. In the 2nd half they finally got there reward with a long range effort from Gourlay. This seemed to give Royal Mail a kick-start & they managed to get an equaliser followed by a penalty after Wray had entered the box(oo err), so with Royal Mail in front S & C's head's went down & showed signs of fatigue. As S & C tried to salvage something Royal Mail went on the counter attack & before you knew it they had gone another 2 goals in front making the final score Royal 4 S & C 1. It could have been such a different story if Paul Maddison had taken his chance when one on one with the keeper in the 2nd half after an excellent through ball from Selimovic, which would have made it 2 - 0. However S & C can take heart from their performance as the result was a bit of an injustice and if they can keep their 1st half performance up they should be OK for the season.

Sunderland Star 5 Tyne Port 2

Match Report by Chris Dixon (Tyne Port)

No McNerney, no Scott, no Cook...Not making excuses or saying we would have won, but it would have been a lot closer if we had our full team, hmmm...

Young <censored> were too quick for us!

A disappointing start to the new season for Tyne Port as we looked off the pace throughout the game. Admittedly, we didn’t have our regular team out - Pottinger and Symonds came in to replace Scott and McNerney - but no excuses, we lost to a better side.

After a bright start in which Tyne could have gone a couple of goals ahead, Star took control and never looked back. Granted, a couple of fortunate ricochets allowed Star to stretch their lead, otherwise the final score would have been closer. However, this would probably do an injustice to an impressive Sunderland Star side who fully deserved the points.

14th August 7:30pm. Ready to go…

Pre-season Review

It’d be wrong to base predictions on pre-season games as last season, everyone rated Herrenknecht very highly and expected Durham to be Relegated – based purely on pre-season games. But this season the obvious favourites to win Division 2 are Runexact, closely matched by Toddy’s and then, probably, a batch of teams in Sporting Redhouse, Slipway and Castletown. InTune look as if they could definitely struggle after being pulverised by a rampant Sporting team after several impressive results against Toddy’s, Team Coulson and Tyne Port. Castletown look good. Despite two heavy defeats off Toddy’s and Sassco, when they have their full squad they should be challenging. A final win over Sunderland Star was most impressive and bodes well for the campaign.

In the Top Flight, all the contenders look impressive. Select, Hendon and Tyne Port have had good, if not brilliant results. Crown and Sassco were both struggling in the early pre-season but look to be more stronger for the League Season. Sassco, in particular, seem to be invincible when they have their full line up and manage to avoid the arguments which will inevitably occur. The loss of Gordon Robson and Duffy for a few weeks is a major blow, but with Paul Mouat signing on, they should be okay. Royal Mail also seem to be happy to be playing pre-season games considering that they have yet to win one. But at least they’re having below par performances now as opposed to in the campaign when points are involved.

3 July 2001

Slipway 3 Redhouse WMC 2

Pennywell 3 Crown Electrics 0

Toddy’s 1 InTune 0

10 July 2001

Toddy’s 3 Team Coulson 0

InTune 0 Tyne Port 0

17 July 2001

Runexact 2 Royal Mail 1

Castletown 3 Redhouse WMC 0

Crown 2 Sassco.co.uk 2

Team Coulson 2 InTune 2

24 July 2001

Royal Mail 2 Toddy’s 2

Crown 3 Sporting 3

Runexact 5 Sassco.co.uk 2

31st July 2001

Sporting Redhouse 7 InTune 0

Runexact 4 Crown 2

Sassco.co.uk 4 Castletown 1

Sassco.co.uk 2 Southwick 0

7th August 2001

InTune 1 Redhouse WMC 1

Sassco.co.uk 3 Toddy’s 0

Castletown 1 Sunderland Star UK 0

Sassco.co.uk 6 Toddy’s 2

SFL announce a new Sponsor.

New name for Season 4: JDI Consulting Football League

After discussions over a few week’s Alan Dawson from JDI Consulting Limited has kindly agreed to sponsor the League for the coming Season. We believe it’s the perfect time as well considering that Season 4 is expected to be the professionally organised to date. We now have 20 exceptionally well organised teams who are 100% for the League, the League is also receiving more and more publicity in the Sunderland Echo (courtesy of Neil Watson at North East Press) and the Web Site is registering a record number of hits. Also most of the major search engines now return Sassco when you type in “Six a Side”. Things are looking good, and personally I’m enjoying organising it more than ever. I suppose it was a bad season in terms of organisation, I was forced to (mutually) remove three teams and also several teams were appointed new management. But once this was dealt with, everything ran perfectly and it’s mostly credit to all the teams. Everyone seems to be adhering to the strict team wear rules – which is probably the most important aspect of all and all teams are constantly “up for it”. Next season there should be more to play for. We have a JDI Challenge Competition which involves group stages, the old SFL Cup is still there and also we have two competitive leagues. An added bonus (or maybe not for the teams involved) is a Relegation Play Off. The bottom 2 in Division 1 are Relegated but the next two play each other and the loser suffers Relegation.